Playoff preview: Inland Lakes ready to host Alcona in pre-regional clash

INDIAN RIVER – Playoff time is here, folks.

For the Inland Lakes Bulldogs, they’ve become extremely familiar with the postseason. It’s been well documented that the Bulldogs have ambitions of making it to the state finals.

But it certainly won’t come easy for Inland Lakes (8-1), who host the dangerous Alcona Tigers (8-1) in a 7 p.m. contest at Shanley Field on Friday night.

As the playoffs inch closer, let’s preview the matchup between the Bulldogs and Tigers.

WEEK 9 TAKEAWAYS: Takeaways from Week 9 of the Cheboygan area high school football season

SKI VALLEY WINNERS: Inland Lakes survives Gaylord St. Mary comeback, wraps third-straight SVC title

INLAND LAKES

Last week: Week 9 was kind to the Bulldogs, who wrapped up their regular season by claiming a third consecutive Ski Valley 8-Player Conference title with a 36-30 victory at Gaylord St. Mary.

Inland Lakes got out to a big lead and held on against a St. Mary team that narrowly missed out on the playoffs. Another total team effort propelled the Bulldogs to another trophy.

Players to watch: (Aidan Fenstermaker, Jake Willey, Grant Blumke)

Aidan Fenstermaker – The dynamic playmaker was at his very best, scoring five total touchdowns in the win over the Snowbirds. Fenstermaker rushed for over 170 yards and had a strong passing day as well. The Bulldogs will go as far in this postseason as Fenstermaker takes them. He’s been terrific all fall. It’ll be interesting to see how he goes about taking on a stout Alcona defense that's recorded five shutouts this fall.

Jake Willey – Other than Fenstermaker, Willey is arguably the Bulldogs’ most dangerous offensive weapon and certainly showed that against the Snowbirds, racking up almost 100 yards receiving and scoring a TD. Willey’s such a tall and athletic presence that when you throw any ball his way, the odds are he’s going to haul it in. Like Fenstermaker, his play will determine how far Inland Lakes will go

Grant Blumke – What a return it was this past Saturday for one of the top players on the Bulldogs team. Blumke led Inland Lakes with a team-high eight tackles and was a huge presence on the defensive side of the ball. Blumke suffered an injury earlier this fall, but he’s now back and looking to fuel the Bulldogs on a deep state tournament run. When Blumke’s on the field, he makes an already-loaded Bulldogs squad that much better.

ALCONA 

Last week: Finished off an 8-1 campaign by hammering Whittemore-Prescott and earning a spot in the playoffs. The Tigers have been stellar on offense all fall, scoring 50 or more points in seven of the nine regular season games they played. As mentioned earlier, the Bulldogs are not bad on defense either, shutting out five of their foes.

Players to watch: Garrett Somers, Collon Walker

Garrett Somers – Somers is a solid QB who’s engineered a potent Alcona offensive attack smoothly. A threat with his arm and legs, Somers will be one of the best signal-callers the I-L defense faces.

Collin Walker – The Tigers feature another dynamic offensive talent in walker, who caught three TD passes and rushed for two in last week’s win. He’s been a problem for opposing defenses all fall.

Last meeting: 2022, Alcona def. Inland Lakes 50-40 in Indian River

Outlook: This MHSAA 8-Player Division 1 region is absolutely stacked, especially with St. Ignace and Central Lake colliding in the other pre-regional clash. If the Bulldogs win, a rematch with the Saints back up in St. Ignace is a real possibility. The Bulldogs have beaten the Trojans already this fall, but the Saints have earned wins over both the Bulldogs and Tigers. What an epic couple of weeks we have on our hands.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Inland Lakes to host Alcona in first-round playoff football contest